Midsummer Dreams
By Trish.
A/N: I don't own Pokémon or Puck. I only own the rights to this story. Prepare for major OOC here. Oh, and Chuchino owns herself……
Chapter Two: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day……..
Tracey Sketchit slid off the stool and stretched. The convention was now into its second day, and the attendance record showed that the numbers were up on yesterday. Tracey was on duty at the Pokémon Watcher's Association Stand, so far he had been very pleased at the number of enquiries about becoming a Pokémon Watcher. There was one child who he thought showed real promise. The boy had brought some of his drawings along - and they were good. If he kept it up - he could make a real name for himself.
The young man straightened the wrinkles out of his clothes. He had dressed comfortably for a long day ahead. He wore a white t-shirt with beige cargo pants, and with a dark green short sleeved shirt worn loose and unbuttoned over the top. His longish dark hair was kept out of his face by his red bandanna.
As there was nobody approaching him, he brought out his sketchpad and pencil which he had placed in his backpack. He used the quiet times to do what he does best - draw. Tracey really enjoyed being at the Convention. He could draw all the different types of Pokémon he saw - and also draw the occasional sketch of a pretty girl that walked by.
He spotted a cute little Swinub being carried by its owner, and began to draw the porcine Pokémon. He had started on the finer details of the picture when he was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Hey, Trace."
He turned to see his best friends Ash and James leaning against the back wall. Tracey grinned as he went up to them. "Hi guys. What brings you here?"
"Just checking to see how everyone's doing," Ash answered. Tracey knew that he and Gary tried to make it a habit of visiting each stand, to ensure that things were running smoothly. "Plus," Ash jerked a thumb towards James, "I owe this guy here a drink or two."
"Isn't it a bit early for alcohol?"
"He's not getting alcohol. Caterpie Cola."
"Caterpie Cola?"
"Limited Edition Pokémon Bottlecaps. Need I say more?"
Tracey shook his head. He remembered that James had a fetish for bottlecaps.
"There's a whole set of twelve to collect," James grinned.
"Yeah, so I'm buying him all of them." Ash said with a lopsided smile.
"All of them? How come?"
"Well, the League had us go on this promotional tour with the Johto League Champion a week ago. To keep the costs down, we decided to share rooms. James had to share with the Johto Champ's personal assistant - so he couldn't indulge in any cross-dressing for the whole week. So I promised James that I'd buy him more bottlecaps as a sort of compensation," Ash explained.
"Oooooo, I just love Conventions!" James squealed as he bounced up and down in excitement, "Just think of all the bottlecaps I'll be able to add to my collection!"
"He has his quirks, but he does his job well," the Pokémon Master said with a sigh. He glanced over Tracey's shoulder and smiled. "Looks like you've got another visitor."
Tracey walked up to the counter. A young girl the same height as him, was standing there, dressed in a light blue t-shirt and blue jeans. Her long brown hair was swept up in a ponytail, and blue eyes gazed at him through a pair of spectacles. She's quite pretty, he thought.
"Hi there. My name's Tracey. How can I help you?" He held out his hand.
The girl smiled and grabbed it. "My name's Chuchino. You can't imagine what a thrill it is to finally meet you! I'm your biggest fan!" she said while shaking his hand enthusiastically.
A little too enthusiastically for Tracey's liking. He felt as if his hand was going to fall off. He noticed an interesting badge on her shirt. It had the picture of a Togepi within a red circle with a diagonal line through it. Around the edge of the badge were the letters "I. T. E. O." "May I ask what that badge is you're wearing?" he inquired.
She looked down. "Oh that. You're looking at the President and founder of the International Togepi Elimination Organisation," she said proudly.
"Togepi Elimination Organisation?"
"Yep. We believe that Togepis, or the Egg, as we prefer to call it, are evil. They need to be eliminated for the good of mankind." Chuchino declared, and thumped the counter to emphasise her point.
"What's this about Togepi?" Ash interrupted as he came up to them. He soon found himself being subjected to the same enthusiastic handshaking that Tracey went through.
"Oh my God!" she gasped. "I finally get to meet the Grand Master as well! What a day!"
"Nice to meet you too," Ash replied as he tried to free his hand. "So what were you saying about Togepi?"
Chuchino let go of his hand. "Togepis are evil, and we need to get rid of them."
"This is Chuchino. She's the President of the International Togepi Elimination Organisation." Tracey did the introductions.
"An international organisation, eh?" James spoke up.
"Our members come from all around the world," she stated.
"Well, I always thought that Misty's Togepi was rather psychopathic," Ash grinned.
Chuchino looked at him. "She doesn't still have that thing does she?"
"No. Togepi disappeared two years ago and went….um…feral. Pikachu said that it was jealous because Misty and I had just started dating, and it felt that 'Mommy' was ignoring it." Ash explained.
"How do you know it's gone feral?"
"There's been reports that the Togepi population has increased dramatically over the last two years. Plus some of my Pokémon have encountered the original Togepi in the woods near Pallet."
"Ah, well if any Eggs turn up around here, I'm sure they'll be taken care of. There's sure to be some of my members around here." Chuchino smiled.
"Can I become a member?" James asked. "I always thought Togepi would make a nice omelette. But Meowth wouldn't let me."
"Sure," she replied and handed him a badge and a form. The girl then turned to Tracey, "I was wondering if you give drawing lessons?"
"Sorry, but I don't."
"What about private lessons?"
"I don't do that either. Teaching's just not my thing, " Tracey apologised.
Chuchino looked disappointed. "Oh well," she sighed. "I guess I'll see you around then," and walked off.
James grinned at Tracey. "Looks like you've got yourself a fan."
Once Chuchino was safely out of sight, she leaned against the wall and grinned to herself. So…Tracey wasn't one for giving drawing lessons. But little did he know that she was not interested in becoming a better artist - far from it. She was interested, more like obsessed, with him. All she wanted was to be with him - preferably alone. She narrowed her eyes in determination. Watch out, Tracey Sketchit, she thought to herself, Because what Chuchino wants - Chuchino gets….
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High above the crowds, Puck looked on in amazement as he flew around the marquees. He had never seen so many mortals in the one place! Such a sea of humanity! He looked at the occupants of one stand - and nearly smashed into a post in shock. Did his eyes deceive him? He was positive he had seen that man before - he seemed vaguely familiar to Puck. The sprite flew closer to investigate. Let's see - dark brown spiky hair, goofy expression, and grooming a Ninetails……Ah, yes, now I remember him. Squinty Eyes! No…that wasn't his name….something to do with a rock……..ah….Brock! The human who provided him with hours of entertainment last time he visited. So, he was here, which meant that the other people he had met last time would probably be here as well. He rubbed his hands together in glee, this could prove to be interesting……
He remembered a Rattata telling him that other people teased his master about being dumb. "Let all those regarded as dense. Prove this fact to be utter nonsense. Regale all with your delightful wit. You can be a member of Mensa, there's nothing to it." After the incantation had ended, he waved his arms to release the magic.
He then flew off towards the food stalls, to inhale the delicious aromas that wafted through the air, and to grab a bite or two to eat. Puck zoomed over to the cake stalls, to the delightful smells of freshly baked cakes and slices. He closed his eyes as he took a big sniff……and promptly crashed into a stall post. Disoriented, the sprite wobbled in the air for a minute, then fell…..right into a enormous bowl of fruit punch.
"Ack!" Puck gasped as he surfaced in the drink. Luckily for him, no one had heard the splash, so he was able to swim to the side of the bowl. After many failed attempts, he managed to crawl out of the bowl and onto the counter. He shook himself and stumbled over to an open book that lay on the side.
Unbeknownst to Puck, the fruit punch he had fell into was alcoholic. He had swallowed a full mouthfuls of the liquid, and there was a nice, warm feeling creeping on him. Now, fairies and alcohol do not mix and Puck would soon feel its full effects. The sprite managed to crawl on the pages and tried to read the words which were rapidly moving in and out of focus. "To be…(hic)..or not..to be..(hic)," Puck mumbled. "Dash a stoopid…(hic)…queshion…Who ever…wrote…thish…(hic)…should get…their…head checked." He lay down on the paper, "I thinksh that…(hic)…you…should be…'coz I ..(hic)…shay so." He waved his hands and giggled crazily at the sparks of magic that shot forth. "Oooooooh, look at all the (hic) pwetty..sparkles…"
***************
Daisy Waterflower was near the end of her patience. There was this arrogant young man in front of her who took pleasure in calling her a "dumb blonde" and was there for no other purpose except to torment her by trying to point out how stupid she was. "I bet you didn't know that people can charge a country for breaching a human rights treaty in the United Nations," he sneered.
"For your information, buster," she shot back. "Individuals cannot charge other countries before the United Nations. Only the government of that individual's country can take action. International law is between nation states - not individuals. There are a few treaties which provide for individual representation but not many!"
His mouth dropped open in shock at her outburst - as did her sisters'. Daisy was sounding intelligent - and not one "like" or "totally" had appeared in her speech.
Lily blinked. "Like, wow, Daisy. How did you know that?"
"Yeah, like, that was totally cool!" Violet chimed in.
Daisy was a bit shocked herself. "I…really don't know. I just…knew it." She smiled, "Looks like I'm not a dumb blonde after all!" She turned to her three younger sisters. "From now on, I'm not going to intersperse my speech with 'like' or 'totally'. My valley girl days are over!"
Misty was shocked. What had happened to her sister? Only a few hours ago she had been saying the silliest things…
**************
Jessie smiled happily as she made her way through the milling crowds. She was really enjoying herself at this convention. For once she could wander about by herself - and not have her husband James and Meowth always tagging along. The promise of bottlecaps made James stick by Ash's side, and Meowth was just as happy to babysit Pikachu's litter of Pichus in Ash's office.
Jessie enjoyed the Pokémon side of the convention but also enjoyed checking out what people were wearing. Jessie considered herself to be a fashion consultant, she would often give total strangers advice on what to wear - whether they wanted to hear it or not. Just then her eyes fell on a truly sad sight. He stuck out like a sore thumb - he was in his mid-thirties and looked like he'd come from some costume party. He was garbed in clothes that came straight from Medieval England, and he had longish hair - which was curled. And he looked totally, utterly, lost.
Jessie decided to help - and to do something about that outfit. Then at least people wouldn't stare at the poor man. She rushed up to him, "Excuse me, sir. Do you need any help? You look like you're lost."
The man turned to her. "Aye, I am lost. But you are one of the fairest maidens I have ever seen."
Jessie blushed. The man certainly knew how to compliment a woman.
"I was sitting at home, writing one of my plays when all of a sudden, I find myself in this strange place."
"Where do you live?"
"Stratford-Upon-Avon. Yet, I fear that I am very far from England."
"Yes you are. And since I don't know when you'll be getting home, you'd better come with me." She looked him up and down critically. "But first of all, we've got do something about that outfit."
"My outfit?"
"Your clothes. They're too old fashioned. What is your name?"
"My name, milady is William Shakespeare."
Jessie was only half-listening, thereby missing out on the first half of his surname. "So…you're Mr. Bill Speare? Okay, Bill. It's Makeover time!" And with that she grabbed her new companion's wrist and dragged the bewildered man off to the business sector of the Indigo Plateau.
To be continued……
Author's Note: Okay - the fun and games begin, as do the cameos. Chuchino kindly gave her consent to appearing in this story, she just didn't know how she was going to be used……Hehe….anyway she's already vowed to get revenge.
You know the drill by now - Read & Review! Flamers get fed to my Tassie Devils.
